Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa Team Up to Revive a Century-Old French Department Store

By MOOK Scenic Spots Family (compiled & reported)
 
France’s century-old department store La Samaritaine has been reborn through the collaboration of Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, showcasing the beautiful soul of the historic building in a brand-new light.

La Samaritaine is a major department store in France, located in the heart of Paris between the Louvre and Notre-Dame. It was closed in 2005 due to failing safety standards and later invited the SANAA architectural firm to renovate and redesign it.

The renovation project was led by SANAA, the renowned Japanese architecture firm co-founded by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, in collaboration with local French architects, breathing new life into this important historic structure.

The building has four floors, with plans including a department store as well as a five-star hotel featuring 72 rooms, plus 96 social housing units, offices, and a daycare center. The project is set to be completed in 2020.

This renovation aimed to restore the historic building to its former glory—cleaning away the multicolored enamel tiles that had been hidden behind the walls, revealing their beauty once more. The wavy glass curtain wall serves as the exterior, protecting but not concealing the charm of the historic architecture.